Hitting the big time: Seth MacFarlane seen onstage during the Oscars at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles

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What did you think of Seth MacFarlane's Oscar hosting style?

Hilarious - a real breath of fresh air

Not good - he could have been funny without being offensive

What did you think of Seth MacFarlane's Oscar hosting style?

Hilarious - a real breath of fresh air31832 votes

Not good - he could have been funny without being offensive23114 votes

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The funnyman left no facet of Hollywood untouched by his barbs as he
hosted the 85th annual Academy Awards, as he joked about
women, domestic violence, ageism, weight and the 'hairy' Kardashians.

MacFarlane began
the broadcast looking totally relaxed: Alone on the stage, he delivered a
series of one-liners, many of which drew ire from critics and the
internet community.

Starting
off with a reference to the Oscar-nominated film Lincoln, MacFarlane pondered about Daniel Day
Lewis' devotion to character, saying: 'I would argue the actor who really got inside Lincoln's head was
John Wilkes Booth.'

Musical theme: There were many musical breaks during the show, many of which Seth MacFarlane partook in

VIDEO Seth Macfarlane jokes about Denzel Washington at the Oscars

Dubious past: Jennifer Aniston, left, and Channing Tatum present an award during the Oscars at the Dolby Theatre, Seth MacFarlane joked that one of the pair had been honest about previously being an exotic dancer

Twitter user Laura Hudson was among the thousands on the micro blogging site that found it hard to swallow his humour.

'I mean this Oscars ceremony also featured Jennifer Aniston getting called a stripper, a domestic violence joke,' she wrote.

Hudson
was referring to MacFarlane's most controversial barb. As he introduced
Quentin Tarantino's violent revenge western Django Unchained he
described it as, 'the story of a man fighting to get back his woman,
who's been
subjected to unthinkable violence - or as Chris Brown and Rihanna call
it, a date movie.'

Date movie: He later made an ill-advised link between Django Unchained and domestic violence calling it Rihanna and Chris Brown's 'date movie'

The reference to Brown's 2009 assault of Rihanna drew gasps from the audience in Hollywood's Dolby Theatre.

Rihanna and Brown have since been reunited, and recently attended the 2013 Grammy Awards together.

Huffington Post criticised the comedian for taking a dig at the sensitive topic:
'Domestic violence is not like dating, Seth.'

And
again later in the program referring to Affleck's bearded appearance in
the movie he quipped: 'The first time I saw [Affleck] with all that
dark facial hair, I thought, "My God, the Kardashians have made the jump
to film,": and even he had to admit afterward he wasn't sure about the
joke.

The energy in the room cooled as the
crowd laughed nervously, forcing him to reply with an assurance that the
joke was 'as bad as it gets, if it makes you feel better.'

'Oh no, that's what we were afraid he would do,' he said, mimicking the audience's response.

He followed it up with another Tarantino aimed jibe - the writer/director won the award for Best Screenplay on the night.

Talking
about the film's controversial overuse of the n-word, Seth drew silence
from the crowd when he joked that the screenplay was 'loosely based on
Mel Gibson's voicemails.'

When the cameras showed audience members in the background of Seth MacFarlane's shot after the 'Boobs' song, Helen Hunt, left, and Jessica Chastain and Kathryn Bigelow, right, did not appear amused

He's got fans: MacFarlane managed to draw laughs from the audience and even backstage with John Travolta

Dancing with the stars: Seth MacFarlane sang Frank Sinatra's The Way You Look Tonight as Chaning Tatum and Charlize Theron took the stage

Stunning performance: Dustin Hoffman later told Charlize Theron she was a 'beautiful dancer'

Kristin tweeted: 'I had a blast tonight singing with @sethmacfarlane. He KILLED it! So good! (sic)'

On the other side of the fence, celebrity blogger Perez Hilton was one of the most vocal critics of the performance.

'That song @SethMacFarlane did made me wish he just stuck to telling mildly funny jokes! #Oscars,' he wrote.

In an effort to change the course of
history, he used the remainder of his 15 minutes to redeem himself,
starting with a sensual dance by Charlize Theron and Channing Tatum to
his rendition of Frank Sinatra's The Way You Look Tonight.'

Not good enough, said Shatner, who
then revealed a video clip where MacFarlane, costumed in a Flying Nun
habit, hit on Oscar nominee Sally Field in the green room.